Development and Validation of the State of Meaning in Life (SoMIL) Scale among Chinese Adolescents

IF 2.5 3区社会学 Q1 SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY

Applied Research in Quality of Life Pub Date : 2025-05-22 DOI:10.1007/s11482-025-10455-9

Yumei Li, Nan Chen, Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok

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Abstract

Meaning in life is a complex, multistate, and multicomponent construct, yet existing measures often focus on either states or components without fully capturing both dimensions. Additionally, the applicability of these tools to adolescent populations remains limited. This study first tested the six-state and four-component structures of meaning in life in a sample of 742 Chinese adolescents (347 males; Mean age = 15.39, SD = 1.68, aged 12 to 19). Exploratory structural equation modeling revealed a good fit for both structures. Based on these findings, a 24-item State of Meaning in Life (SoMIL) Scale was developed, incorporating the 6 × 4 state-component structure. A second sample of 668 adolescents (302 males, Mean age = 15.14, SD = 0.49, aged 12 to 18) was used to validate the scale’s structural validity, measurement invariance, internal consistency, and external validity. Results confirmed the SoMIL Scale’s robust psychometric properties, demonstrating its reliability and validity. Furthermore, the scale showed significant associations with quality of life, depression, and anxiety, highlighting its relevance for assessing meaning in life in relation to key psychological outcomes. This research provides a comprehensive, reliable tool for assessing meaning in life in adolescents, underscoring the importance of incorporating both states and components in future assessments, particularly in the context of mental health among adolescents.

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中国青少年生活意义状态量表的编制与验证

生命的意义是一个复杂的、多状态的、多组成部分的结构，然而现有的衡量标准往往只关注状态或组成部分，而没有完全捕捉到这两个维度。此外，这些工具对青少年人口的适用性仍然有限。本研究首先对742名中国青少年（男性347人，平均年龄15.39岁，SD = 1.68，年龄12 - 19岁）的六态四分量生活意义结构进行了测试。探索性的结构方程建模表明，这两种结构都具有良好的拟合性。在此基础上，采用6 × 4状态成分结构编制了一份24项的生活意义状态（SoMIL）量表。第二份样本为668名青少年（男性302名，平均年龄15.14岁，SD = 0.49，年龄12 ~ 18岁），对量表的结构效度、测量不变性、内部一致性和外部效度进行验证。结果证实了SoMIL量表的稳健心理测量特性，证明了其信度和效度。此外，该量表显示出与生活质量、抑郁和焦虑的显著关联，突出了其与评估与关键心理结果相关的生活意义的相关性。这项研究为评估青少年的生活意义提供了一个全面、可靠的工具，强调了在未来评估中纳入状态和组成部分的重要性，特别是在青少年心理健康的背景下。

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来源期刊

Applied Research in Quality of Life SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

11.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： The aim of this journal is to publish conceptual, methodological and empirical papers dealing with quality-of-life studies in the applied areas of the natural and social sciences. As the official journal of the ISQOLS, it is designed to attract papers that have direct implications for, or impact on practical applications of research on the quality-of-life. We welcome papers crafted from interdisciplinary, inter-professional and international perspectives. This research should guide decision making in a variety of professions, industries, nonprofit, and government sectors, including healthcare, travel and tourism, marketing, corporate management, community planning, social work, public administration, and human resource management. The goal is to help decision makers apply performance measures and outcome assessment techniques based on concepts such as well-being, human satisfaction, human development, happiness, wellness and quality-of-life. The Editorial Review Board is divided into specific sections indicating the broad scope of practice covered by the journal. The section editors are distinguished scholars from many countries across the globe.